More than 100 Assad fighters killed in clash with US in eastern Syria

The United States has said it killed more than 100 fighters loyal to the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad as it repelled an assault on a US-controlled base in eastern Syria, the most serious clash between the alliance led by Washington and government forces in the country.

News of the battle emerged amid another bloody day in Syria that signalled the complete unraveling of a shaky nationwide ceasefire. Syrian government forces shelled and bombed the region of eastern Ghouta, near the capital, Damascus, on the third day of a relentless campaign that has killed 21 people so far on Thursday alone.